Friday, August 29, 2014

Illinois Homosexual Teacher Arrested on Child Porn

As school began this week at Meridian Middle School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, teacher John C. Vastis, 51, was arrested for soliciting a boy to provide pictures and video of himself performing sex acts.

Reached by telephone, Eli Rogers, the assistant principal of Meridian, said Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 sent a note to parents this morning notifying them of the arrest and providing an anonymous tip line to call with any information.

Vastis, a resident of far northwest suburban Lakemoor who is also known as "Pete," faces a minimum of 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge of manufacturing child pornography.

The youth, identified in the charges only as "Minor A," told agents that he began communicating via Skype and text messages with an adult he identified as "Pete" in September 2013 when he was 16. Agents later identified Pete as Vastis, the charges alleged.

Vastis was also charged with receiving a video containing child pornography on July 13.

Lakemoor police arrested John C. Vastis, 51, in the early morning hours of Thursday, charging him with two counts of producing child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Chicago district, Vastis coerced a then 16-year-old boy to take sexually explicit photos of himself and send them to Vastis.

According to the release, law enforcement agencies had already been investigating the now 17-year-old male for producing and receiving child pornography himself.

On Thursday afternoon, District 102 Superintendent Theresa Dunkin said the arrest made for a distressing start to the year.

She said Vastis has been placed on investigatory leave; whether he will be paid during that leave will be settled by the School Board. Those discussions will be held in private, Board President Ellyn Ross said.